Social Media for Police Departments

Kelli MatthewsDigital Strategy

Turell GroupUniversity of Oregon

Thursday, May 9, 13

Two Roles for Social Media

First: community outreach, public information, response and relationship building.

Second: “monitoring,” crime prevention and tracking.

Thursday, May 9, 13

Thursday, May 9, 13

Why should you care?

• your community is online.

• your community demands real-time information.

• social media helps you provide fast, accurate information that keeps people safe and informed.

Thursday, May 9, 13

But these social media sites are just a fad.

Why spend the time/money?

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Thursday, May 9, 13

Creating: blogs Connecting: social networks Collaborating: wikis Reacting: forums, ratings and reviews Organizing Content: tags

Thursday, May 9, 13

Thursday, May 9, 13

9

Technology is shifting power away from the editors, the publishers, the establishment, the media elite.

Now, it’s the people who are in control. - Rupert Murdoch

Technology is shifting power away from the editors, the publishers, the establishment, the media elite. Now,

it’s the people who are in control. - Rupert Murdoch

Thursday, May 9, 13

Thursday, May 9, 13

Harness the power!

Thursday, May 9, 13

Be Intentional.

•Have a plan.

•Create a policy.

•Be committed to both.

Thursday, May 9, 13

Have a Plan for Community Outreach

•What do you want to accomplish?

•Who is your audience?

•What tools can you use?

Thursday, May 9, 13

Talk: Share information, resources, tips.

Energize: Try new things to get people talking about public

safety.

Embrace: Look for ways to truly get your community

engaged and involve them.

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Have a plan for incident response. Thursday, May 9, 13

@ClackCoSheriff #ClackamasShooting

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Create a policy.

Thursday, May 9, 13

External Policy: How Should People Behave?

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Internal: How Officers and Staff are Expected to Behave Online.

Thursday, May 9, 13

Highlights of NYPD Policy

"personal social media sites may be used against them to undermine the credibility of the department, interfere with official police business, compromise ongoing investigations and affect

their employment status."

• Discourages officers from listing that they are on the police force.

• Forbids officers from posting photos of themselves in uniform except at an official event.

• Bars officers from using social media to contact witnesses, crime victims or lawyers involved in pending cases, or to contact or “friend” minors who aren't part of their families.

Thursday, May 9, 13

Commit.

Thursday, May 9, 13

Questions?

Thursday, May 9, 13